Obama: Guantánamo camps a waste of resources

President Barack Obama late Tuesday signed a $633 billion defense bill that continues to block his ability to close the prison camps at Guantanamo, Cuba, then in a separate signing statement issued Wednesday called the prison camps a waste of national security resources.

"I continue to believe that operating the facility weakens our national security by wasting resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and strengthening our enemies," Obama said in a statement released by the White House Wednesday morning.

While the president has bristled at the restrictions in past signing statements, this time he highlighted the expense, and it comes immediately after the hot debate over the fiscal cliff.

The White House had threatened to veto the Pentagon's spending bill because of a number of concerns, including limits on his authority to transfer terror suspects from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. As of Wednesday, the Pentagon held 166 detainees at Guantanamo -- at least 55 of whom are cleared for release -- but just nine of them on trial or convicted of crimes.

6. Congress must fund the shutdown

(i.e., dismantling the facility, hiring movers, transport of equipment, prisoners, and personnel), and they (including Democrats) have refused to fund this claiming "no one" wants the prisoners in their backyards and they want a "plan" for where the prisoners will go.

Guantanamo is a disgrace, and holding people indefinitely without due process is a traverty, but IMO the courts are very likely to hold that Congress does have the ability to influence how the Guantanamo prisoners are held, either as in consequence of the war powers clause cited above or in consequence of Congressional control of the purse

4. Obama is so right. Guantanamo is a waste of taxpayers' money. A waste.

8. If the prisoners weren't radicalized

When they were turned in, they will be by now. They really have a reason to hate us. They might even be killed or re imprisoned in their home countries.

I have a dark suspicion, we interrogated some of them right out of their minds. We now owe them a lifetime of care, feeding, and protection.

I remember a story of one inmate forced to stand in a barrel of ice water to soften him up. His lower legs froze and had to have them amputated. Where do we dump a leggless Afghan farmer in a wheel chair? Out in front of an opium den with $20.00? I suppose.